Published: Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 8:37 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 8:39 p.m.

AUBURN — Auburn gave its 13-member senior class a blowout win in their final game at Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 51-7 victory over Alabama A&M on Saturday.

The game was the first time the two in-state teams have played each other.

The Tigers (3-8) will close out the season next week at No. 4 Alabama in the annual Iron Bowl rivalry. Auburn will be trying to avoid its first winless season in the Southeastern Conference since 1980, and it also potentially could spoil a trip for the Tide to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta against Georgia in two weeks with a win.

“Our goal was to send our seniors off on a good note here at Jordan-Hare and it was good to be able to do that,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “My hat’s off to the seniors who accomplished a lot here in four years.

“We played pretty well today. The bottom line was getting a win, so it was a good day.”

The Bulldogs, a Football Championship Subdivision team, fell to 7-4 on the year. They lost any shot at reaching the Southwestern Athletic Conference title game last week when they lost to Jackson State 35-21. They must be selected as an at-large team for the playoffs or their season is over.

For the contest, Alabama A&M gained only 208 yards with just 22 yards rushing. Auburn had 512 total yards — 341 of that on the ground.

Auburn kicked off the scoring with a patient 10-play, 66-yard drive on the opening possession of the game. The Tigers picked up small chunks of yardage at a time until Tre Mason busted loose for a 19-yard touchdown run with 10:41 left in the opening quarter. Cody Parkey’s kick made it 7-0.

The Tigers followed that drive with a quicker one, going 60 yards in seven plays. Onterio McCalebb rushed untouched off right tackle for a 19-yard touchdown. Parkey’s kick at the 4:31 mark in the first made it 14-0 Auburn.

After another Bulldog punt, Mason scored for the second time in the game, this one an 86-yard dash, to quickly extend the lead to 21-0. Auburn gained 237 yards in the first quarter. Mason alone had 141 yards rushing on six carries in the period. He finished with 184 yards on 12 carries while sitting out most of the second half. McCalebb, a senior, had 104 yards on 15 attempts.

“Tre has gotten better as the season has progressed,” Chizik said. “He runs hard and he runs for tough yards. Onterio has always had a perimeter game here, but he’s learned to run in between the tackles a little bit better.”

The next Alabama A&M drive reached Tiger territory, but it stalled and the Bulldogs were forced to punt.

A 51-yard pass from Jonathan Wallace to DeAngelo Benton set up a 3-yard touchdown plunge by Jay Prosch with 11:29 left until halftime to give the Tigers a 28-0 cushion.

On the next possession, the Bulldogs again reached the Auburn side of the field but could not come away with points, instead turning the ball over on downs.

Auburn drained the clock from there, scoring on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Wallace to Sammie Coates with 23 seconds until the break to finish off a 10-play, 72-yard drive for a 35-0 edge after two quarters.

The first drive of the second half saw the Bulldogs put together their best stretch of offense in the game. A 1-yard scoring run by Deaunte Mason put the final touch on a 10-play, 88-yard march with 10:34 left in the third. Chance Wilson’s PAT made it 35-7.

Auburn tacked on a 13-yard McCalebb scoring run, a safety resulting from a bad punt snap and a 60-yard interception return for a score by Trent Fisher, all in the fourth quarter, to make the final score.

For the contest, Wallace hit on 10 of 18 passes for 171 yards.

Mason had 186 yards passing on 17 of 28 throws for Alabama A&M. Chris Ervin had two tackles for loss.

Now, Chizik and the Tigers look ahead to next week’s Iron Bowl.

“The challenge of next week is going to be huge,” Chizik said. “What it means to fans on both sides is huge. We’re going to embrace it and have a lot of fun going over there and playing.”

<p>AUBURN — Auburn gave its 13-member senior class a blowout win in their final game at Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 51-7 victory over Alabama A&M on Saturday.</p><p>The game was the first time the two in-state teams have played each other.</p><p>The Tigers (3-8) will close out the season next week at No. 4 Alabama in the annual Iron Bowl rivalry. Auburn will be trying to avoid its first winless season in the Southeastern Conference since 1980, and it also potentially could spoil a trip for the Tide to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta against Georgia in two weeks with a win.</p><p>“Our goal was to send our seniors off on a good note here at Jordan-Hare and it was good to be able to do that,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “My hat's off to the seniors who accomplished a lot here in four years.</p><p>“We played pretty well today. The bottom line was getting a win, so it was a good day.”</p><p>The Bulldogs, a Football Championship Subdivision team, fell to 7-4 on the year. They lost any shot at reaching the Southwestern Athletic Conference title game last week when they lost to Jackson State 35-21. They must be selected as an at-large team for the playoffs or their season is over.</p><p>For the contest, Alabama A&M gained only 208 yards with just 22 yards rushing. Auburn had 512 total yards — 341 of that on the ground.</p><p>Auburn kicked off the scoring with a patient 10-play, 66-yard drive on the opening possession of the game. The Tigers picked up small chunks of yardage at a time until Tre Mason busted loose for a 19-yard touchdown run with 10:41 left in the opening quarter. Cody Parkey's kick made it 7-0.</p><p>The Tigers followed that drive with a quicker one, going 60 yards in seven plays. Onterio McCalebb rushed untouched off right tackle for a 19-yard touchdown. Parkey's kick at the 4:31 mark in the first made it 14-0 Auburn.</p><p>After another Bulldog punt, Mason scored for the second time in the game, this one an 86-yard dash, to quickly extend the lead to 21-0. Auburn gained 237 yards in the first quarter. Mason alone had 141 yards rushing on six carries in the period. He finished with 184 yards on 12 carries while sitting out most of the second half. McCalebb, a senior, had 104 yards on 15 attempts.</p><p>“Tre has gotten better as the season has progressed,” Chizik said. “He runs hard and he runs for tough yards. Onterio has always had a perimeter game here, but he's learned to run in between the tackles a little bit better.”</p><p>The next Alabama A&M drive reached Tiger territory, but it stalled and the Bulldogs were forced to punt.</p><p>A 51-yard pass from Jonathan Wallace to DeAngelo Benton set up a 3-yard touchdown plunge by Jay Prosch with 11:29 left until halftime to give the Tigers a 28-0 cushion.</p><p>On the next possession, the Bulldogs again reached the Auburn side of the field but could not come away with points, instead turning the ball over on downs.</p><p>Auburn drained the clock from there, scoring on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Wallace to Sammie Coates with 23 seconds until the break to finish off a 10-play, 72-yard drive for a 35-0 edge after two quarters.</p><p>The first drive of the second half saw the Bulldogs put together their best stretch of offense in the game. A 1-yard scoring run by Deaunte Mason put the final touch on a 10-play, 88-yard march with 10:34 left in the third. Chance Wilson's PAT made it 35-7.</p><p>Auburn tacked on a 13-yard McCalebb scoring run, a safety resulting from a bad punt snap and a 60-yard interception return for a score by Trent Fisher, all in the fourth quarter, to make the final score.</p><p>For the contest, Wallace hit on 10 of 18 passes for 171 yards.</p><p>Mason had 186 yards passing on 17 of 28 throws for Alabama A&M. Chris Ervin had two tackles for loss.</p><p>Now, Chizik and the Tigers look ahead to next week's Iron Bowl.</p><p>“The challenge of next week is going to be huge,” Chizik said. “What it means to fans on both sides is huge. We're going to embrace it and have a lot of fun going over there and playing.”</p>